I love this teapot. I have many Yixing pots that I also love, but in this pot you can truly see and feel its creator. I'm taken by it's unpolished quality, and especially the folded spout.

But it is not only the aesthetic - my wife blind tasted a young sheng in this pot and and a Yixing pot - there was no doubt that the Earth & Fire pot produced a gentler brew.

I am not bothered by the use of a non-traditional, non-Chinese vessel in gong fu. I know some may feel every component of the tea experience must be "authentic", but I embrace the mixing of cultures and art.